the correlation of platelet-monocyte aggregate formation and ifitm3 gene expression with covid-19 severity

Background: platelet-leukocyte aggregates have been implicated in various infectious and inflammatory diseases. the interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3 (ifitm3) protein plays a role in eliminating viral infections, but its role in the severity of covid-19 is not well understood. objectives: we aimed to investigate the correlation between ifitm3 mrna expression and platelet-monocyte complex levels with the severity of covid-19, as well as various inflammatory and coagulation markers. methods: we conducted a cross-sectional study on 54 covid-19 patients, classified into severe and mild/moderate subgroups. demographics and laboratory findings were extracted from patients' medical records. we measured ifitm3 mrna expression in patients' buffy coats using q-rt-pcr and used flow cytometry with cd61 and cd14 markers to measure platelet-monocyte aggregates. results: no significant difference was found in ifitm3 mrna expression levels or platelet-monocyte complexes between severe and mild/moderate groups (p = 0.067 and p = 0.056). lymphocyte counts were significantly higher in the mild/moderate subgroup (21.7 ± 8.9 vs 16.3 ± 10.9, p = 0.02), while neutrophil counts were significantly higher in severe patients (78.3 ± 12.2 vs 72.3 ± 9.9, p = 0.01). additionally, levels of crp and ldh were significantly higher in severe covid-19 patients (p = 0.01 and p = 0.001, respectively). a strong positive correlation was observed between the hospitalization period and crp, crp with neutrophils and ldh, as well as between o2 saturation and lymphocytes (p < 0.001, p = 0.0003, p = 0.002, and p = 0.005, respectively). conclusions: our findings suggest that ifitm3 gene expression and platelet-monocyte aggregate levels do not correlate with disease outcomes in covid-19. however, further investigations with larger sample sizes are needed to better understand the mechanisms involved. monitoring inflammatory and coagulation markers remains important for managing covid-19 patients.